Confessions of a Home Cook (with Dreams of Grandeur)

The Late Night Gourmet

The Late Night Gourmet

Home kook
Staff member
Joined
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5,573
Location
Detroit, USA
Website
absolute0cooking.com
You're a good cook, and you know it. And, stop the false modesty: you wouldn't be here if you weren't good...okay, REALLY good. So, what I'm about to say here shouldn't come as a shock.

I don't think of myself as just a guy who cooks things. I think of myself as a guy who cooks AMAZING things. You probably think of yourself the say way (of course you do...we already established that). Now, be honest with the following list. For each YES, add that to your total. The results are at the end of this post.

If you can think of other things along the same lines, please let me know so I can add them to the list.

How many things below are things that you've thought or done:
  1. "I went into the wrong profession...I should have been a chef!"
  2. "I'm better than a lot of professional chefs out there."
  3. You make "mmm-mmm" sounds while eating your own food.
  4. You can't understand why the philistines (family members) don't like your more adventurous preparations.
  5. After hearing about a preparation you've never done before, you want to IMMEDIATELY make that preparation yourself at the next opportunity.
  6. After eating food that's disappointing at a restaurant, you have an urge to try making it yourself, but better.
  7. You have pointed critiques for how a meal was prepared at a restaurant.
  8. You Yelp the results of a meal you've eaten at a restaurant, good or bad.
  9. You feel compelled to tell your dinner companions the history of the dish when you're at a restaurant.
  10. You see a kitchen gadget you've never used before, and you feel compelled to buy it.
  11. You wonder why your friends and collegues don't ask you for cooking advice, because you are the expert in the staffroom.

Results

0-2 = Are you sure you're on the right forum?
3-6 = Not bad, but you need to work on being more arrogant.
7-9 = You probably SHOULD quit your job and open a restaurant.
10-11 = You are the next Master Chef!
 
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I only scored 3! No. 3 is my favourite :)

11. You wonder why your friends and collegues don't ask you for cooking advice, because you are the expert in the staffroom.
 
I have friends that admit they don't ask me to their place for dinner because they feel their food is nowhere near as good as mine. But they love coming to mine because they get good food. My love of food started at high school in home economics cooking classes. I tried to get in the army at 16 as an apprentice chef. I failed because of my bad background in high school. I was always in trouble. I think I produce restaurant quality food.

Russ
 
Very amusing post @The Late Night Gourmet - I only scored 6!

On a serious note the reason I didn't say yes to the professional chef questions is because however good a cook I might be, I know I couldn't hack the demands of a professional kitchen - cooking under pressure, cooking the same dish over and over again on the same day and dealing with multiple orders.
 
morning glory said:
however good a cook I might be, I know I couldn't hack the demands of a professional kitchen
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I totally agree....but that doesn't stop me from thinking that I could do better than some professional chefs. If the failure is in execution, then that can be down to management and quality control. But, if the failure is down to the dish being exactly what the head chef seemed to want, then that's where I think I could do better. But, I also have to realize, there are certain palates that are accustomed to certain ways of having their food, and there are plenty of places that cater to that. This is my nice way of saying that some people like eating mediocre food...this explains why The Olive Garden is so popular.

As you've probably already guessed, I said YES to every one of the above. :chef:
 
I didn't say yes to every one, but I said yes enough that I should open my own restaurant. LOL, like I could handle that.

We've had the problem with friends, family about not wanting to cook for us because we successfully cook dishes they wouldn't even attempt and they've been with us when we criticize food in a restaurant and think we do that to theirs. We don't, it's a different situation. Our DD told me once we are too picky. Um, nope. If I'm at a place where I am paying close to $30 or more for an entree only, then it better be prepared correctly, especially if it's a plate or bowl of pasta, and, yes, there are some high-end Italian places we've been to that charge that for something like penne alla vodka or alfredo or a simple meat sauce, and they aren't tourist trap places (you wouldn't believe the prices at the high-end places in the tourist areas). And, if it's a $50+ steak or veal chop, it d..n well better be cooked perfectly.
 
I see myself as a good home cook and I'm pretty good at adapting recipes / planning menus for people with food restrictions (medical or ethical). Since joining cookingbites I've been working on my presentation more. Money is a big restriction for me now, but that does make me more adventurous in cooking food I would have eaten at restaurants before. Though less money, I do have more time these days so cook a lot more. I get lots of complements on my food but it certainly isn't restaurant quality (Though I'm thinking really top class restaurants. I can cook a better roast than Toby Carvery :dance:)
  1. "I went into the wrong profession...I should have been a chef!" NO
  2. "I'm better than a lot of professional chefs out there." NO
  3. You make "mmm-mmm" sounds while eating your own food. YES
  4. You can't understand why the philistines (family members) don't like your more adventurous preparations. Not usually an issue as they are all adventurous (My husband and my parents)
  5. After hearing about a preparation you've never done before, you want to IMMEDIATELY make that preparation yourself at the next opportunity. YES
  6. After eating food that's disappointing at a restaurant, you have an urge to try making it yourself, but better. YES
  7. You have pointed critiques for how a meal was prepared at a restaurant. YES
  8. You Yelp the results of a meal you've eaten at a restaurant, good or bad. YES (on tripadvisor)
  9. You feel compelled to tell your dinner companions the history of the dish when you're at a restaurant. NO
  10. You see a kitchen gadget you've never used before, and you feel compelled to buy it. YES/NO (I dont usually actually buy it as I have a minute kitchen)
  11. You wonder why your friends and collegues don't ask you for cooking advice, because you are the expert in the staffroom. I do get asked, but this is usually on adapting meals for allergies etc. I
 
Herbie said:
  1. "I went into the wrong profession...I should have been a chef!" NO
  2. "I'm better than a lot of professional chefs out there." NO
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About these two items:

1. I have thought that, but reality does get the better of me when I do, and I realize I shouldn't realistically have ditched my engineering job for the life of a chef.
2. Chef has a definition that isn't universally agreed...in fact, this has the makings of a new discussion topic! I've come to the conclusion that a chef is anyone who makes a living cooking food (including those who work in volunteer kitchens), and/or who completed culinary school. There are a lot of mediocre dining establishments out there, and I believe I could do better than the chefs who work there. I can completely understand if chef conjures up a cook in a fine dining establishment.
 
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